


Found A Martyr In My Bed Tonight

by parallelanprincess



Series: Sugar, We're Goin' Down [1]
Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Backstory, Bisexual Male Character, F/M, He Aint Batman, He Aint Shit RN, Long-Distance Relationship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Open Relationships, POV Bruce Wayne, Romance, Young Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 08:06:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8278759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parallelanprincess/pseuds/parallelanprincess
Summary: Bruce Wayne has spent his entire life running from his problems.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in a day. Thanks to Hurricane Jackass my school schedule is fucked so my anxiety is through the roof. Writing this was my main way of staying calm today. Also, I got tired of using P!nk lyrics so no we've moved on to Fun. because that band is life. 
> 
> This takes place BEFORE Light from the Angels so I guess I have to do some reordering again. Later. I'm so tired in so many ways. The idea behind this is "What is Bruce Wayne without Batman?" A rich, playboy with some deep rooted issues. I mean he doesn't become a Bat so I guess bro needs to get some therapy at some point. I mean, Brucie is still an act but it's really to mask his own insecurities and fears about measuring up to people's expectations.

He’s used to waking up with models laying in his bed like body pillows. His world is designer clothing, fast cars, and endless piles of money. His name is tossed around in nightclubs from Bludhaven to Coast City and everywhere in between. He doesn’t need to work a day in his life. Working is for people who don’t have inheritances. 

Bruce Wayne can do whatever he wants. 

Except go back to Gotham.

Gotham is a rotting corpse of corruption. It reeks of desperation and suffering. The streets are filled with criminals who prey on the weak. His parents would turn over in their graves if they saw the how fair their beloved city has fallen. Bruce doesn’t quite feel the same disappointment or attachment that his father did. When the caskets were lowered, Bruce’s affection for the city that birthed him died. Gotham was a graveyard and he was a member of the walking dead. 

Alfred sending him to boarding school was for the best. Star City was sunny, welcoming, and considered the safest city on the East Coast. Everything that Gotham was not. Bruce stopped having nightmares. Random people on the street didn’t offer their condolences. No one treated him any different than the other students. Queen Academy was the home away from home for many children destined to inherit their parent’s fortunes and positions. Bruce was one of the rare cases that would receive his due the moment he turned eighteen. 

His eight years at Queen Academy were bittersweet. He discovered the wonders of girls at fifteen. An ambassador from Greece visited and brought her beautiful daughter with her. Diana is flirtatious and bored. They get to second base before her bodyguards come looking. She leaves him her number and a promise to stay in touch. Their acquaintanceship is characterized by explicit Skype calls, texts from varying time zones, and the worst memes they can find. When Bruce turns seventeen he learns that boys can be just as wonderful as the distaff. Oliver Queen isn’t as charming as Diana but he’s closer. He’s convenient and that’s what makes them destined to fall apart. The disastrous affair ends a week before graduation. When Alfred comes to collect him, Bruce is grateful to return to Gotham for a short period. 

Then he’s off to Cambridge. Alfred is so proud. Bruce makes sure his loyal butler knows nothing about him sleeping his way across Europe. Sure a few tabloids manage to take a few compromising pictures of him and Talia al Ghul but those were completely out of context. He runs into Diana a few times on the continent. Their first time is in the women’s room at the Louvre. She makes him promise that when he’s done with school that he’ll get his act together. They won’t be young and beautiful forever. He can’t keep running from his problems forever. He kissed her goodbye after a weekend of sightseeing.

Something about Diana had changed. She seemed sharper, more focused. Bruce is still too selfish to ponder the implications. His grades start to slip after too many weekends partying and not enough studying. Alfred threatened to cut him off after a particularly horrendous semester during his third year. The butler talked about legacy, reputation, and a lot of other things Bruce wasn’t prepared to hear. Bruce called Diana hoping for a sympathetic ear. 

“Don’t you want to take over your father’s company one day?” Diana asked. 

She was in Washington D.C. doing an internship at the the Smithsonian American Art Museum 

Diana found her calling in the art world instead of politics. Her mother stopped speaking to her but kept paying tuition. Bruce admired her dedication to carving out her own place in the world free from anyone’s restrictions.  

“Perhaps. Seems like an awful lot of work. I doubt I’m anyone’s idea of a CEO,” Bruce replied. 

“Brucie the billionaire playboy isn’t fit to run a marathon. Bruce Wayne on the other hand--”

“Not going to happen, Di. Besides, I’ve been away too long. Gotham’s changed. I’d be out of my depth.” 

The city would chew him up and spit him out. The only thing Gotham was good for was breaking someone. You had to be stronger and meaner than the forces trying to tear you down. It took more than brute force. You needed to be charming and cutthroat in equal doses. Adaptability was the name of the game.

“Gotham is always changing. That’s the beauty of it. Confront your demons. They will catch up to you no matter how fast or far you run. Take some initiative.”

“When did you get so smart?”

“You’re not the only one stuck going to university. Couldn’t have done me a favor and stayed in the states. No, Brucie has to go off to the rainiest city in Europe,” Diana pouted.

She was always right. He didn’t like admitting that. Diana saw through him like a piece of glass. His playboy persona was wasted on her. Still they found themselves wrapped around each other whenever they were in the same time zone. Bruce and Diana were adrift in a sea of expectations. Diana was setting her own course and preparing to drop her anchor. Bruce was being sidetracked by sirens and hot mermen. 

“Fine. I’ll think about it. Alfred will be overjoyed. He’s been dropping hints about my future again. Bless that man. He has no idea about half the things I get into.”

“Thank the gods for small miracles.”


End file.
